The work non-profits provide to our state is vitally important. Non-profits can achieve many more possibilities than government can dream of. They also help save billions of tax payer dollars annually from the services they provide to our communities. As the next Secretary of State, I will use the office to improve services to non-profits and help develop aggressive enforcement of bad players who damage the names of non-profits, while they robbed our citizens of their monies. My first responsibility is to restart a non-profit quarterly round table meeting. The office must improve the environment for which non-profits must operate within this state. We must understand the challenges they face day in and day out, to help provide education and resources to advance their missions. The Secretary of States office must be viewed as a helping hand and not a bureaucratic nightmare to deal with.

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As a House member I have sponsored and authored countless gun rights bills. I truly believe the 2nd Amendment is our most important right and it guarantees all other rights.I hear the argument often that we need more restrictions to keep bad people away from fire arms. That would be great, and I would support that idea when criminals start following laws. Until then I will fight for your right to defend yourself and your family’s right to protection. Most people believe the second amendment is to guarantee our rights to hunting and personal protection, but our founding fathers intended it as the final check of power for our federal government. You will always be able to count on my support to protect the second amendment.

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Every politician throughout the South will check the box of being Pro-Life but it should not be a box we just check. I believe life starts at conception, no apologies and no middle ground, it’s a scientific fact. I am proud of my 100% voting record throughout my 7 years within the SC House and my sponsorship of countless pro-file bills, along with my drafting of the Personhood Act. However, as a Christian I believe it’s vitally important to protect life in all areas. Over the last serval years, I have lead the way within the House on Foster Care reform. We must understand that our responsibility as Christians is to protect life from conception throughout the natural end of life. We have many areas that deserve our attention as a society regarding the protection of life, like foster care, sex trafficking, and the elderly just to name a few. If we as a nation cannot value life than we will never be able to lead on any other issue. I am proud to not just check a box but to fight for the one’s without a voice. We need more leaders who understand how important the sanctity of life is, as the corner stone of our morality as a nation. Without it all else fails over time.

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It has been reported within the media that the current incumbent averages 2.5 days of work a week. Keep in mind that this is a fulltime taxpayer supported office that requires the office holder to show up each day. Also, the incumbent has his chief of staff turn on his office lights and crack the door to give the appearance that he is in the office, when he actually is not. My promise to the voters is that I will show up to work and that I will remove my office door so there is no questioning my time spent within the office.

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For the past 16 years the current Secretary of State has driven the state car for personal travel. This has amounted to thousands of dollars’ worth of taxpayer funds spent inappropriately for personal travel each year. He even travels from Spartanburg to Columbia when he does choose to work in the office. As a constitutional office holder, you are expected to live within the area that the office is located. It is not the responsibility of the taxpayers to fund your travel to work. The government does not pay for your travel to your employment so why do we fund 200 + miles worth of commute each day for the incumbent?

As your next Secretary of State, I promise that I will not use a state-owned car or take state reimbursements to travel to work. I will personally pay my own expenses to get to the office because it is not your responsibility to do so.

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I support term limits for elected positions (especially for Secretary of State) because our founding fathers were clear that elected office was never meant to become a career path. Elected office was designed to change hands often so innovative ideas can make their way through government. Most importantly it is so our leaders will never become comfortable within the office they hold. I am leaving the State House after 7 years because I believe once you have made a difference within an elected office you should look for other areas to serve or go back home. Elected office should never become a retirement opportunity. I firmly believe innovative ideas that we desperately need in the office of the Secretary of State will not come from the 16-year incumbent, who is seeking 20 years within the same office.

My promise to the voters of this great state is that I will not seek more than two terms as Secretary of State. The reason why I am running to become your next Secretary is to reform the office and restore your voice within this office. You see, I believe you judge a politician not by the words he says but by the actions he takes. This is the same promise I made with my constituents 7 years ago. Public office must be to serve the public and not ourselves. So, I will continue to lead by example if the voters of this great state continue to place their trust within me.

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There are countless issues unfortunately facing our great state. Many of those issues we will address within this website over the coming months. However, the greatest issue and what drives these challenges, is a lack of Visionary Leadership that state most desperately needs.

Over the past 7 years our state has faced one major disaster after the other. Like Education funding, pension system, road funding, health care funding, ethics reform, and just recently the failed V.C. Summer nuclear station. You see we are having to face/react to one major catastrophe, year, after year. We have become reactionary, always dealing with a major problem. Our state leaders must become visionaries. The worst type of government is a reactionary type of governing. Instead of reacting to problems we should be looking to the future and addressing these problems before they become a catastrophe. The taxpayers deserve leadership that will look to the future to plan for all our challenges. Unfortunately, we care more about addressing one major problem each year and who will take us golfing next.

As the next Secretary of State, we will use the office to push for much needed reforms throughout government. We will become the watch dog of all state government. Our focus will be to the future and the challenges we face. No more sitting in a corner trying to avoid the publics eye, we will lead by example. We must have more voices in Columbia leading the conservative message of responsibility, not less.

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More than likely you have not thought much about the Secretary of State’s office because for the last 16 years it has been non-existent within state government. You see when the office is ran with the mentality of out of sight, out of mind, you really cannot serve the taxpayers. We have for far too long taken this office for granted because the office of Secretary of State should be the second most important elected office within the whole state. The Governor has the ability to speak on every issue that faces our state and the ability to help shape our public policy. The only other office with the same ability is the Secretary of State. In a time of few conservative voices within our government we desperately need all elected officials to help carry the message of reform and visionary thinking. I don’t believe people quite understand what we could and should have in the Secretary of State’s office. The potential this office could have will help transform our state, we just need the right leader with passion and energy to accomplish it.

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Since I have been born, politicians have talked about tax reform but have never delivered. We must be bold with our solutions! This coming year we have a wonderful opportunity to pass meaningful tax reform here in SC. First, we must get rid of Act 388 which has destroyed small business owners and education funding within this state. Second, broad base, low rate tax reform is the key to economic and personal freedom within our tax code. I have supported the Fair Tax because you as the consumer can decide where and how much you want to spend on taxes. Third, we exempt more sale tax items than we collect within this state. The problem is that we have allowed special interest with their lobbyist to shape and craft our tax code to favor Mega corporations over the taxpayers and small business owners.

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Starting a business should be an exciting time. I remember starting my first business and being filled with all the excitement of the possibilities this endeavor could bring to my family. However, dealing with your government shouldn’t be a nightmare. It’s already difficult enough trying to understand what it will take for your business to succeed. Your whole attention should be on your business, not complying with what the government demands of you.

I will transform the office of the Secretary of State into a one stop shop for all your business start-up questions. With modern technology I will bridge the divide between the current state business portal and county/municipal governments. You shouldn’t have to worry about going to municipality after municipality, or county after county to figure out what it will take to start or maintain your business. I will build a truly one stop business portal for all South Carolina businesses.

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Our First 3 Objectives

Technology & Cyber Security: Technology & Cyber Security must be at the forefront of very decision made in the Secretary of State’s office. Just about every day we hear of another cyber ransom or technology related crime, and it’s only going to get worse. These crimes end up costing consumers and tax payers billions of

We see all the announcements of mega-corporations relocating to South Carolina, but we rarely hear of any advancement within our small business community. “Why is this?” you may ask. Well it’s because for far too long SC has overlooked our most important economic producers within the state. Regulation and tax reform have been nonexistent for

You probably didn’t know this, but you have no accountability as a citizen over our election process within this state. Those who run and are entrusted with protecting the integrity of our election process are un-elected bureaucrats. When something goes horribly wrong within our elections you do not get the opportunity at the ballot box